DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The story of Refugio, Texas, begins a long way from Texas — across an ocean, in a townland called Ballygarrett, County Wexford, Ireland. Hold that image for a second, because it matters.
Two Irishmen, James Power, born around 1788, and James Hewetson, born in 1796 — both of them immigrants to the United States in the early nineteenth century, both of them who went on to become citizens of Mexico — these two men convinced the Mexican government to let them do something audacious. More than two hundred Irish families. They were going to bring more than two hundred Irish families to Texas in the 1830s.
Now that is a plan with some ambition in it. The first group of settlers made it to the Texas Gulf Coast in 1834, and right there the trouble started. A cholera epidemic hit.
And as if that weren't enough, rough waters grabbed their provisions and their equipment as they were coming ashore — just swallowed them up. The colony they were heading for, near the former Spanish mission of Nuestra Señora del Refugio, had to wait while these people regrouped, grieving and supply-poor, on the edge of a new world. But they got there.
The colony was established. And almost immediately — almost before they could catch their breath — the new settlers found themselves caught up in the cause of Texas independence from Mexico. Many of those Irishmen took up arms and fought in the Texas Army.
And when the fighting was done and the Republic of Texas stood on its own, some of them walked into the Republic of Texas Congress. They didn't just survive this place. They helped shape it.
And here's the part that'll stay with you on the road: many descendants of those early immigrants still live in the Refugio area today. Some of them on the very land that was granted to their ancestors back in the 1830s. From Ballygarrett to Refugio — rough waters, cholera, revolution, and all — they planted roots that are still holding.
What the marker says
The history of settlement in Refugio is closely associated with Ballygarrett, County Wexford, Ireland. Irish natives James Power (c. 1788-1852) and James Hewetson (1796-1870), both of whom immigrated to the United States in the early 19th Century and later became citizens of Mexico, obtained permission from the Mexican government to oversee the immigration of more than 200 Irish families to Texas in the 1830s. The first group of Irish settlers arrived on the Texas Gulf Coast in 1834. A cholera epidemic and the loss of provisions and equipment in rough waters as the immigrants reached the shore delayed their arrival in Refugio, where they were to settle near the former Spanish mission of Nuestra Senora del Refugio. The colony soon was established, however, and almost immediately the new settlers were embroiled in the cause of Texas independence from Mexico. Many Irishmen fought in the Texas Army and later served in the Republic of Texas Congress. The Irish people established a lasting presence in the Refugio area. Many descendants of the early immigrants still reside in the area, some on land granted to their ancestors in the 1830s.